Publication
Asthma incidence and accuracy of diagnosis in the Portuguese sentinel practice network
| Summary: | Aims: Asthma is frequently under-diagnosed with a wide variation in incidence rates. We aimed to assess how physicians in a Portuguese sentinel practice network perform using standardised diagnostic criteria. Method: Patients consulting one of the 43 network physicians with complaints suggestive of asthma were enrolled in the study over a four-year period. Symptom frequency and diagnoses of asthma were tabulated. Diagnostic accuracy was computed by dividing the rate of asthma diagnosis by the true rate using established diagnostic criteria. Results: Over four years, 43 physicians followed 32,103 patients (128,412 patient-years) and diagnosed asthma in 310. The diagnosis was,confirmed in 260 cases, giving a true incidence rate of 2.02/1000/year (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 2.2) and an accuracy of diagnosis of 84%. Conclusions: Asthma incidence approaches published rates if accepted criteria are used. Educational efforts to ensure more accurate diagnosis may improve outcomes for asthma patients. |
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| Main Authors: | Correia de Sousa, Jaime |
| Other Authors: | Silva, Manuel Luciano; Lobo, Filipa Almada; Yaphe, John |
| Subject: | Asthma Incidence Diagnosis Diagnostic accuracy Family practice General practice Portugal Ciências Médicas::Medicina Clínica |
| Year: | 2010 |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Document type: | article |
| Access type: | open access |
| Associated institution: | Universidade do Minho |
| Language: | English |
| Origin: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Summary: | Aims: Asthma is frequently under-diagnosed with a wide variation in incidence rates. We aimed to assess how physicians in a Portuguese sentinel practice network perform using standardised diagnostic criteria. Method: Patients consulting one of the 43 network physicians with complaints suggestive of asthma were enrolled in the study over a four-year period. Symptom frequency and diagnoses of asthma were tabulated. Diagnostic accuracy was computed by dividing the rate of asthma diagnosis by the true rate using established diagnostic criteria. Results: Over four years, 43 physicians followed 32,103 patients (128,412 patient-years) and diagnosed asthma in 310. The diagnosis was,confirmed in 260 cases, giving a true incidence rate of 2.02/1000/year (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 2.2) and an accuracy of diagnosis of 84%. Conclusions: Asthma incidence approaches published rates if accepted criteria are used. Educational efforts to ensure more accurate diagnosis may improve outcomes for asthma patients. |
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